Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve mental health support for (1) veterans, and (2) serving military personnel.

The Ministry of Defence is absolutely committed to the mental health of our Service personnel, providing robust training, welfare support and development opportunities. When necessary, we ensure that both serving personnel and veterans are given the mental healthcare and treatment they need. We do this by working in close partnership with a variety of different organisations, including the NHS (which is responsible for the provision of healthcare, including mental healthcare, for veterans) and Service charities such as Combat Stress.

Recent initiatives include the Defence People Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, launched in July 2017, which covers all Defence people and identifies the need for strong partnerships with the Department of Health, the NHS in England and the Devolved Administrations and the charitable sector, and a new operating model focusing on Promote, Prevent, Treat and Detect.

In October 2017, we announced a new partnership with the Royal Foundation, aimed at helping maintain and develop good mental fitness. And on 25 February this year, the Secretary of State for Defence announced that we have built on our existing partnership with Combat Stress to provide a new MOD-funded Military Mental Health Helpline for Serving personnel and their families, providing out-of-hours advice and assistance and running in conjunction with the charity's existing helpline for the veterans' community. We will also be providing an additional £2million of annual funding for military mental health services, on top of the £20million a year we already spend.

Mental health services are already provided for serving personnel through a network of 20 permanent locations, comprising 11 Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs); six Mental Health Teams (MHTs); and three locations with a permanent Community Mental Health Nurse. These support the provision of healthcare that is available through Service primary care facilities. In-patient care is provided in dedicated psychiatric units through a central contract MOD has with a partnership of eight NHS Trusts.

Personnel leaving the Armed Forces who have had mental health issues during their Service are eligible to access services at a local DCMH for up to six months after discharge, to help them during the transition period. A Veterans' Transition Protocol ensures any Service person discharged with a diagnosed mental health disorder is handed over appropriately to the NHS in England.

Where a Service person leaving the Armed Forces has an enduring need for mental healthcare, we work in partnership with NHS England through the Veterans Mental Health Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service (VMH-TILS), to ensure continuity of care. The VMH-TILS service provides a range of treatment and support for veterans, as well as Armed Forces personnel approaching discharge. It will arrange for veterans to be referred if necessary to the NHS England Veterans' Mental Health Complex Treatment Service (VMH-CTS) which launches on 1 April 2018.

Other services available from MOD to veterans include the Veterans and Reserves Mental Health Programme (VRMHP), for veterans that have served since 1982 and Reservists with operational service overseas since 2003 (provided through the DCMHs), and the Veterans UK and Veterans Welfare Service.